Hill doctors frown on home quarantine

People returning home from other states were sent to “home
quarantine” on Tuesday, prompting doctors to point out that it was not
the “best procedure” to follow, after which the Darjeeling district
administration said all inbound travellers would have to undergo
institutional quarantine and Covid-19 tests even if they were
asymptomatic.

On Tuesday, 300 people had returned from Sikkim and
over 150 of them were from the GTA area. After initial screening at
Rangpo, they were sent to “home quarantine”.

A post by a leader of
the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha’s Binay Tamang camp in the party’s WhatsApp
group on Tuesday night said 10 people had arrived from Chennai. While
three of the 10 are from Bijanbari and Sukhiapokhari, four belong to
Singamari.

Doctors in Darjeeling told The Telegraph that
sending the returnees to the home quarantine was not the right
procedure. “We need to save ourselves. They should have been put up in
institutional quarantine and after throat swab tests, they can be sent
for home quarantine if the results are negative,” said a doctor who
didn’t want to be named.

Another senior doctor seconded the opinion and said “the history of the patient” should also be carefully tracked.

Pralay
Acharya, chief medical officer of health, Darjeeling, however, said on
Wednesday evening that all inbound travellers to the district would be
sent to institutional quarantine where their throat swabs would be
collected for Covid-19 tests.

“Throat swabs will be taken at
quarantine centres and if the results come negative, they will be sent
for home quarantine,” said Acharya.

The health official said the swab results would be available within “a maximum of 24 to 48 hours”.

Binny
Sharma, chief co-ordinator of the GTA help-desk, said seven people —
one each from Bijanbari, Nirpani, Mungpoo and Rambi — and three from
Kalimpong had arrived from New Delhi on Wednesday.

“They have been
sent to quarantine centres in their respective areas. Tests will be
conducted on them,” said Sharma who added that three more helpdesks
would be set up at Simulbari.

The GTA has also decided to lay
stress on local surveillance. “Locals would best know who is arriving
from which place. An in-charge was appointed in each of the 45 GTA
constituencies today (Wednesday). They will work in tandem with local
samaj, police and ground level health staffs.”

Those who have
arrived over the past few days will also be monitored by this committee,
said a GTA source. An additional 150 people also arrived from Sikkim on
Wednesday but they were sent for “home quarantine” as Sikkim is still a
green zone, said the GTA official.

“We are also encouraging
people to inform us about their travel plans so that we can track their
routes. The information can be provided online,” said a GTA source.

A
GTA report has stated that 567 people are in self quarantine in
Darjeeling district (GTA area), while the number is 437 in Kalimpong
district. Five people are presently admitted to Desun Hospital (a
pre–Covid hospital), while no one has been admitted to Dr Chhang’s Super
Specialty Hospital, which is a dedicated Covid-19 hospital.

https://www.telegraphindia.com

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People returning home from other states were sent to “home quarantine” on Tuesday, prompting doctors to point out that it was not the “best procedure” to follow, after which the Darjeeling district administration said all inbound travellers